In the Shadows of Twilight
by DOKChairman
Summary: On the world of Ezraki a war has been raging for 3,000 years. When a Chaos Mage discovers a way to open a portal that leads to a thousand different worlds ready for conquest, all he needs to succeed is to open the Hellmouth.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** In the Shadows of Twilight

**Author:** DOKChairman

**Time/Spoilers:** I have no idea when this takes place.  However, everything after season six is fair game.

**Summary:** There is no summary.

**Disclaimer:** Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own the rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all of its characters.  I own nothing except the story.

**Author's Note:** This idea has been plaguing me for a while and I just needed to get it down on paper.  For those of you who have been reading my ongoing story, _And the Saints Boweth Before the King_, I am not stopping it but I am taking a hiatus of sorts.  I will occasionally post new parts for that story as I focus on this one.  Don't worry I am good at multi-tasking.

**Author's Note #2:** Warning!  This story is a **hard R**.  I have always wanted to do a more serious, more realistic, and darker story for the BTVS universe, and this is it.  There will be violence, language, sex (sometimes), and other adult themes.  If any of these things offend you, or just not your cup of tea, do not read any further.

Chapter 1

An excerpt from the book _Chaos_:

            _War is the lifeblood of our people.  It creates havoc, death, and destruction.  Without war, there is no chaos.  And without chaos, our people become stagnant and dull.  Condemned to a lifetime of mediocrity and order, our people will surely die out.  Chaos makes us stronger, it gives us the will to live, and it gives us a reason to live. _

_            One must worship chaos to truly understand it.  Make it part of your life, embrace it as you would a member of your clan.  Share your blood with chaos, and it will surely reward you for your faith.  Only war, and by extension, chaos can truly make you alive._

-Greshak Bar, Chaos Mage, circa 1350 pre-war

The hills of Choradan were steeped in legend.  Going all the way back to the beginning of the great civil war between the peoples of Ezraki, the hills had seen countless battles between the two great armies.  It was during one battle, the Battle of Kalu, that the hills had their reputation cemented for all time.

            In the battle, the great Judicator Kalu led the forces of Order against the armies of Chaos and defeated them soundly.  Over a hundred thousand men fell that day in the hills of Choradan.  The grass had been stained red with the blood of the fallen, and the ground scorched beyond repair.  Even now, four hundred years later, the hills had still not recovered from the scars of that day.

            Unfortunately for the hills of Choradan, the grim situation that they faced was only about to get worse.  For once again, on the hills known for their violent history, another battle raged across their landscape.

            Two great armies, the armies of Order under the leadership of the Judicator Rak and the armies of Chaos under the leadership of the Chaos Mage Gresham Bar clashed across the hills.  They were fighting for supremacy, for the right to call their way of life better than any other.  For three thousand years the two forces have waged war against the other, neither side ever gaining a clear advantage over the other.  Today was no different.

            The battle had begun during the early morning.  The first rays of the sun had just graced the hills with their presence when the two sides had lined up along their respective battle lines and prepared for combat.  This time it was the followers of Chaos who possessed the hills of Choradan.  Of course to the armies of Order, that was unacceptable.  

            With a loud clashing sound, the two great armies met, and the battle begun.  Judicator Rak himself led the charge against the armies of Chaos.  It was a great battle, seeing many different feats of heroism, but in the end the forces of Order were defeated.  Judicator Rak had been slain, killed by a sword through the heart, and the armies of Order left the hills of Choradan less thirty thousand men.  

            The Chaos Mage Gresham Bar led the celebration of his armies all through the night.  They had defeated the heathen followers of Order and had earned the right to posses the hills of Choradan for the next hundred years.

            For you see, these were no ordinary hills.  Every hundred years, on the day of the Setting Sun, a portal appeared.  This portal led to a thousand different dimensions on a thousand different worlds.  Because of this portal, every hundred years, the two warring armies clashed for the right to posses the hills and use the portal.  Whoever controlled the hills, controlled the portal, and whoever controlled the portal controlled a thousand different worlds.

            Every cycle the influence of each victorious side grew a little more.  The portal would take them to a new world, and they would then conquer it, enlisting its inhabitants and its resources in their fight.  It was a lengthy process that each side wished could be made shorter.  For the people of Ezraki had used up most of their world during their civil war and they needed new worlds to exploit.  Each side was as bad as the other, but the armies of Chaos were growing steadily worse.

            After studying the teachings of his great ancestor Greshak Bar, the Chaos Mage Gresham Bar had discovered a way to lengthen the amount of time the portal stayed open to indefinitely.  It was the reason why the armies of Chaos celebrated so joyously.  They had finally discovered a way to get an advantage over their foes.  Soon they would be victorious and chaos would spread across all dimensions.

            In his writings, Greshak wrote of a mystical portal on a world called Earth.  This portal possessed unimaginative power, and if it was opened properly, its power could feed the portal in the hills of Choradan for all time.  Gresham Bar intended to use the portal of Choradan to travel to the world of Earth, open the mysterious portal called the Hellmouth, and finally he would have the means to defeat the worshippers of Order.

            It was a glorious day indeed.  Chaos ruled Ezraki, and soon, Gresham knew, chaos would rule the Hellmouth.  He would see to it personally.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** In the Shadows of Twilight

**Author:** DOKChairman

**Time/Spoilers:** I have no idea when this takes place.  However, everything after season six is fair game.

**Summary:** There is no summary.

**Disclaimer:** Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own the rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all of its characters.  I own nothing except the story.

**Author's Note:** Warning!  This story is a **hard R**.  I have always wanted to do a more serious, more realistic, and darker story for the BTVS universe, and this is it.  There will be violence, language, sex (sometimes), and other adult themes.  If any of these things offend you, or just not your cup of tea, do not read any further.

**Author's Note #2:** This story takes place in the not so distant future.  As anyone who has read my other Buffy story knows, I love complicated plots, and this story is no different.  Things will start off as polar opposites, but eventually everything will converge.

Chapter 2

            "Is everything set?"

             The man's dark haired companion sighed.  "Yeah, boss, everything is ready to roll.  Tim and Mikey are in position, the ventilation system is rigged, and the power is ready to be cut whenever you give the signal.  We're five by five."

            The man did not respond, but instead went back to cleaning his weapon for the tenth time that day.  He was meticulous about those kinds of things.  A dirty weapon was a dangerous weapon, and he had no intention of letting his military issue M-16 become a dangerous weapon.

            The woman with the dark hair shifted in her seat and studied her own gear.  Unlike her boss she hated guns, and swore to never touch one.  She preferred knives (they were much more personal in her opinion), as evidenced by the two long, serrated, non-standard issue combat knives holstered on her combat vest.  The knives were the only weapons she carried on her person; of course, to those that knew her, they knew that her entire body was a weapon.

            Again the woman sighed and said with a slight grin, "You know boss, why is it every time we do this kind of thing you ask me if everything is ready?  Why don't you ever ask any of the boys?  If I didn't know you so well and if I didn't have such high self-esteem, I might begin to worry that you didn't trust me to get the job done."

            The man stayed silent for a few seconds before looking up from his gun with a frown on his face.  "You know I trust you.  That's why I ask you to take care of this stuff, because I trust you so much.  I love Tim and Michael like family, but you and I both know that they couldn't take a shit without somebody showing them how to sit on the pot."

            The woman laughed heartily.  The man continued talking to her as he reassembled his gun.  "Besides, you'd get bored if I didn't give you so much to do.  I spend half my free time just trying to come up with enough ways to keep you occupied enough to stay out of trouble."

            The woman leered at the man and said in a silky voice, "I can think of one way you can keep me busy."

            The man smiled at her as he held up one of his hands.  "You know the rule.  No contact whatsoever, remember?  Don't tell me you've forgotten what happened last time you tried to break that rule?"

            The woman leaned back in her seat with a pout on her face.  Giving a disgusted snort she said, "Don't remind me.  I can't believe you actually walked away.  I mean I was just lying there, completely naked, just waiting for you, and all you did was walk away.  Do you have any idea what something like that does to a girl's ego?"

            The man's smile faltered a little.  "I'm sorry, but you knew what was going to happen before you decided to embarrass yourself so it's your own fault."

            "Well, I didn't think you actually meant what you said.  Who turns down free, no strings attached sex, with a girl like me?"  The woman asked seriously.

            The man's smile grew larger, "You'd be surprised how many men might."

            The woman laughed and sobered before saying completely serious, "Sure.  A gay man.  You aren't gay are you?  Because if you are I'd really like to know so that I can focus my attention elsewhere."

            "No, I'm not gay.  You know that.  Why do you always ask that?"  He asked with a pained expression on his face.

            The dark haired woman smiled and slapped the man on his shoulder.  "Ah, I'm just giving you a hard time boss.  You know how much I like watching you squirm.  It's one of the few pleasures I'm allowed in my life."

            The man laughed sarcastically, "Haha, very funny."  Turning away from the woman's face, he turned to his left.  "How much longer James?"

            The man driving the van turned to briefly look over his shoulder.  "45 seconds, boss."

            The man nodded his head in response but James had already turned back around.  Facing the woman, the man smiled before reaching down to the bench next to him and picking up a black ski mask.  Pulling the mask over his face, he saw his partner do the same.

            The man picked up his rifle, and slammed a blue clip of ammo into the gun.  As he slid a round into the firing chamber, he asked his companion.  "You ready?"

            Even through her mask, he could see her feral grin.  "Damn, of course I'm ready.  I love this shit!"

            The man grinned in response as he reached for the handle on the van's back door.  Placing the strap of his rifle around his shoulder, the man reached into one of the pockets on his vest and pulled out a small remote control.  There were two buttons only.  One, the man knew, would cut the power for an entire block, effectively rendering their target's alarm system inoperable.  The second button would activate the target building's ventilation system, releasing a gas that would quickly spread throughout the building and knock all of its inhabitant's unconscious.  At least those that breathed oxygen.

            "Remember, anything that is still moving by the time we get in there isn't human.  I don't want a repeat of Baltimore. Anything moving dies."

            The woman let out a cry of indignation, "Hey!  That was one time.  Christ a girl makes one mistake and it haunts her for life.  He was cute and I thought he didn't get out much.  How was I supposed to know he was a vampire?"

            "You mean the pasty white skin, four bullet holes, and the fact that the man had a fashion sense that would make even me look GQ didn't throw you off?"  The man said in disbelief.

            The woman harrumphed, "Like I said, he was hot."

            The man laughed and shook his head as he pressed the two buttons on his remote control in rapid succession.  He soon grew serious as he felt the van rapidly decelerating.  As soon as the van came to a screeching stop, the man threw the door open, and both its occupants rushed toward the glass doors in front of them.

            Bringing his rifle up to his shoulder as he ran towards the two doors, he could see a gray substance already dissipating through the doors in front of him.  Reaching the doors first, the woman yanked one open, allowing her partner to go in first his gun sweeping the area in front of him.

            The woman just sighed to herself as she prepared to go in.  Her last thought before she focused herself completely on the mission was: _God, I hate this bank robbing shit_.  


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** In the Shadows of Twilight

**Author:** DOKChairman

**Time/Spoilers:** I have no idea when this takes place.  However, everything after season six is fair game.

**Summary:** There is no summary.

**Disclaimer:** Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own the rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all of its characters.  I own nothing except the story.

**Author's Note:** Warning!  This story is a **hard R**.  I have always wanted to do a more serious, more realistic, and darker story for the BTVS universe, and this is it.  There will be violence, language, sex (sometimes), and other adult themes.  If any of these things offend you, or just not your cup of tea, do not read any further.

**Author's Note #2:** This story takes place in the not so distant future.  As anyone who has read my other Buffy story knows, I love complicated plots, and this story is no different.  Things will start off as polar opposites, but eventually everything will converge.

Chapter 3

            Timothy and Michael Kellner were twins.  Identical twins to be exact.  And like many twins, they shared everything with each other.  Whether it was girls, money, or in their current case, jobs, they did everything together.  When one was in a tight spot, whether it was financially, emotionally, or, as it was so frequent with them, when one was in a fight, they always backed the other up.

            So when one found himself to be inside a bank, emptying a modified 30 round clip of magnesium tipped, Teflon coated bullets, from a high powered assault rifle into the rapidly approaching torso of a very pissed off vampire, the other was not far behind.

            The plan had been relatively simple as far as Tim and Mikey were concerned.  They were to wait for the predetermined time, the moment when the other three members of their team activated their little distractions, and then storm one of the many Los Angeles branches of Bank of America through its sewer entrance.  

Before the twins had joined their "special" team, they would have found the very idea of a bank having a sewer entrance completely ludicrous.  That was until they learned that some banks had the entrances put in so that they could better service their more unsavory clients.  Vampires and demons needed to place their valuables in a safe place just as much as humans did, and the banks were more than willing to accommodate the previously untapped client base.

Of course that was why they were here in the first place.  Their team specialized in the appropriation of mystical artifacts.  Unfortunately for Tim and Mikey, along with the other team members, the act of appropriating those mystical artifacts seemed to frequently take place inside of a bank.  Suffice it to say, they had quite a reputation amongst the law enforcement community.

None of that mattered to Tim and Mikey though.  They were in it for only three reasons.  The first being the obvious one; the money.  Every member was paid very well for their work, and it was the best job the twins had ever had.  The second reason was a much less tangible one, but it was one that was as important to them as the money.  They loved the thrill.  The thrill of living life on the edge, knowing that at any moment a vampire or demon, or even on the off chance that a cop might actually get lucky, might kill them, was a very intoxicating feeling.  And the third reason was the most important one to them.  Their boss.  The father that they never had.  Tim and Mikey idolized their team leader, and they were willing to go to Hell and back for him.  Which was kind of ironic considering the type of creatures they frequently killed.

Which brought them back to their current situation.  After seeing the power go off in the sewer, they had donned their "acquired" gas masks and readied their weapons.  They waited for the appropriate ten second time delay, they knew that was roughly the amount of time it took the newly released gas to knock the average human unconscious, and then entered through the sewer entrance into the rear of the bank.

Wasting no time to think, the twins acted merely on instinct.  Leap frogging from one position to the other, they began quickly searching the bank for any conscious inhabitants.  They didn't have to wait long to find one.

They saw a bewildered looking vampire come stumbling out of one of the managing offices.  Tim reacted first.  Depressing his finger, his MP5, equipped with silencer, rapidly spat out three rounds at the approaching vampire's head.  One of the magnesium tipped rounds hit the vampire right between the eyes, while the other two, due to the gun's slight upward motion as a result of being fired, entered the vampire in his forehead.  The vampire instantly stopped in his tracks, his skull shattered and blood and brain matter sprayed all along the wall behind him.  While Tim covered him, Mikey quickly went up to the twitching vampire and shoved a stake through his heart, turning him to dust.

After dispatching the first vampire, Tim and Mikey continued moving down the hall.  It was their job to clear the back of the bank while their boss cleared the front.  Both Tim and Mikey hoped that he was having as easy a time as they were.

The enraged vampire leapt at her, but he didn't get very far.  Halfway through his leap, he was hit by four carefully fired rounds to the chest.  The bullets hit his heart, and the magnesium made fast work of it, burning it up until it was nothing.  The vampire exploded into dust, and instead of a 200-pound vampire landing on top of her, she was coated with a thick layer of dust.

She didn't stop to say anything as she ducked under a fist rapidly approaching her head.  Grabbing the extended vampire's arm with both hands, she kicked out one of her legs in a sweeping arc sending the vampire falling to the ground.  Bringing the vampire's still extended arm down sharply on her thigh, she heard a very satisfying crack and the vampire cried out in pain.

The woman then smiled underneath her mask as she brought her two deceptively strong hands up to the female vampire's head and gave the head a sharp twist.  Again a satisfying crack could be heard, but this time no sound came from the vampire on the ground.  Breaking her neck, she knew, wasn't enough to put a vampire down for good, but it was more than adequate for temporarily disabling it.  Besides, killing vampire's was her boss's job.  She just loved the fighting that led up to the staking part.  It was one of the reasons why she didn't carry a stake with her.

She got up on one knee as she surveyed the rest of the bank in front of her.  Her boss was quickly checking all the unconscious human customers to make sure that they were in fact human.  She still remembered that one time when Matt had still been with them and he hadn't checked everybody.  She could still hear the sound of his neck breaking when she thought about it.  That had been the one and only fuck up since they started the whole bank robbing bullshit, but it had been a costly one.  She knew that her boss would never make another mistake like that again.  

Matt had been her partner's best friend for over two years before he died, and she knew that her friend had never forgiven himself for what happened.  She would never admit it to his face, but she would sometimes watch her friend sleep and she would see the nightmares that he still had about that day.

She saw that her boss was finally finished checking the humans and she got up and walked up to him.  Making sure to stay in cover, she thanked him for stopping the flying vampire.  "That was some pretty nice shootin there Tex.  Thanks for the save X."

"No problem F.  You know how much I like covering your ass."  The man said laughingly.

The woman snorted, "Don't I know it.  If your not covering my ass, you're staring at it.  Either way I think you have an unhealthy fixation on my ass.  You should really get that taken care of."

The two began walking to behind the bank counter, heading to the vault.  As they were walking, the dark haired woman said, "How are T and M doing?"

Before her partner could say anything, they heard the soft phhoot sound a silenced weapon made when it was being fired.  It was coming from just down the hallway on their left.  The man broke off in a dead run, the butt of his rifle already braced against his shoulder in case he needed to fire.  The woman wasted very little time in following him.

Tim yelled out to his brother as he used his submachine gun to block the flying kick coming at his head.  "What the fuck is going on here?  Where did all these damn veeps come from?"  Veep was Tim and Mikey's word for vampire.  It just sounded better to them.

Mikey responded through gritting teeth as he dealt with his own vampire.  "I don't know man!  They shouldn't be here!"  Mikey ended his sentence when the vampire punched him in the gut.  Thankfully his Kevlar armor absorbed most of the blow, but Mikey knew that he would probably have a small bruise there tomorrow.  

Tim saw his brother get punched in the stomach and then again in the face, and he became enraged.  Nobody messed with his brother.  Bringing the butt of his MP5 crashing down on the vampire's face with as much force as he could manage, the vampire went sprawling to the ground.  Looking down, Tim could see that the vampire's face was a mess.  Its nose was broken, blood was coming out of its nose and mouth, and it looked like the left side of his face had caved in.  Tim pulled a long, sturdy stake out of his vest and jammed it down hard into the creature's heart.  

Not wasting time to see the vampire explode into dust, he brought his weapon up and aimed carefully.  His brother and the vampire were struggling and Tim could not get a clear shot.  "Get out of the fucking way you dumbass!"

Mikey heard him and managed to elbow the vampire in the face, sending him back a few steps.  Jumping backwards, falling hard on his ass, Mikey brought his own gun to his side, a M-16, and fired at the stunned vampire from the hip.  Most of his shots went wild, digging into the wall of the bank, but a few found their mark.  One hit the vampire in the arm while two more hit him in his stomach.  The vampire groaned in pain and fell to one knee.

Mikey, by now steady, took careful aim at the vampire and finished him off with two rounds to where his heart was supposed to be.  The vampire exploded into dust and Mikey climbed to his feet.  Dusting himself off, he gave his brother the finger.  "Who you calling a dumbass?  I don't need your fucking help."

Tim was saved from responding when they saw two black clad figures turn the corner up ahead and run down the hallway.  When Tim saw who they were he said in a happy tone, "Hiya boss!  How's it goin'?"

  The man just ignored Tim.  "Are you both all right?"

Both brothers nodded their heads.  Mikey spoke up, "Yeah boss, we're five by five.  Just ran into some trouble.  There are more veeps here than there should be."

"How many?"  The man asked.

Mikey responded, "Four.  One when we first came in and three more in this hallway."

The man was quiet as he thought about what Mikey had just said.  Mikey was right.  Four in the back, and three in the front made seven.  That was way too many.  Usually when they hit a bank that had otherworldly customers, they would only get two, sometimes three, vampires (It had been there experience that demons never visited the bank during the day.  They would be too noticeable.  At least the vampires could blend in with the human customers).  But seven was unheard of.  The odds that a bank would have that many vampires, at the precise time they decided to hit the bank were astronomical.  The man did not like where this situation was heading.

Reaching into a pocket on his vest, the man pulled out a handheld radio.  Keying the mike, he spoke into it, "J?"

James responded quickly, "Yeah boss?"

"J, take the van and leave."  The man said.

He could hear James' voice ask in disbelief, "But boss, what about you guys?"

The man raised his voice slightly, making sure to add some authority for good measure.  "Don't argue with me J.  Leave now and head to the safe house.  If you don't hear from me in four hours I want you to contact McAllister and tell him the plan went to hell.  Tell him someone set us up."

The man could hear James' voice respond chokingly, "Ok, boss."

The man then turned the radio off and placed it back in his vest.  He focused his attention on the rest of his team.  It was times like this that he wished he could look everyone in the face, but protocol demanded that they never reveal their identities while on the job.

With confidence that he really didn't feel, he took charge.  "All right, here's the plan.  We act as if everything is normal, but I want everyone to be on high alert.  It might just be some sick coincidence that there are so many veeps here today, but I doubt it.  We came here for a reason, and I don't intend on leaving unless it's with that book.  Is everybody ok with that?"

The woman answered for all of them, "Yeah X, we're good.  You're the boss man and we trust you to lead us to the Promised Land."

"Ok then.  M takes the rear and T has got point.  F, I want you with me.  Since you stubbornly refuse to carry a gun, somebody's gotta watch your ass."  The man ordered.

"Unlike some people I don't need a gun to beat somebody in a fight.  I just use my god given ass kicking talents."  The woman said smugly.

The man laughed, "Please, you can't even take me."

The woman let out a cry of outrage and then said in utter disbelief, "Take you?  I could take you drunk, stoned, and with both arms tied behind my back.  I've seen you lose to J and he can't even hit the workout bag half the time!"

The man shrugged his shoulders and said, "Believe what you will, but shut up now ok.  We're moving out."

Tim had already started moving and soon the others followed him.  They were heading straight for the vault, not stopping for anything unless it was absolutely necessary to do so.  Luckily, they made it to the vault without incident.  Now they only had to worry about the combination that they had been given worked.

The man reached into his vest and pulled out a small piece of white paper.  Written on that paper was the combination necessary for opening up the vault.  Handing his gun to Tim because he knew that his dark haired friend would never agree to hold it, he began to turn the dial on the safe.

Once he turned the dial to the last number and heard an audible click, he sighed in relief.  He had feared that the combination would have been false.  Maybe, he figured, things were going according to plan after all.

Twisting the wheel-like handle, he pulled the door open…and came face to face with what looked like at least ten vampires.  Standing at the center of the group of vampires was a tall man with dark blond hair.  Speaking with a slight Russian accent, the vampire said, "Ahhhh, so good of you to finally join us.  I was starting to fear that my comrades outside had scared you off.  It makes me happy to know that you don't scare easy."

The blond vampire paused as the other vampires in the vault spread out into what little space the vault allowed.  The man grabbed his gun from Tim and brought it up to his shoulder; Tim and Mikey did the same.  The woman just pulled her two knifes out of their sheaths.

The blonde vampire just ignored the group's hostile actions as he said in a conversational tone, "You know what one of the best parts about being a vampire is?  It's not having to breathe.  Here we were waiting for you for three hours.  If we had been human, our air would have ran out hours ago.  Breathing is so overrated, I'm sure you guys know what I'm talking about.  Oh well, its not like you four will have any need for breathing for very much longer anyways."  

The man then snapped his fingers and the ten vampires rushed the four humans.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** In the Shadows of Twilight

**Author:** DOKChairman

**Time/Spoilers:** I have no idea when this takes place.  However, everything after season six is fair game.

**Summary:** There is no summary.

**Disclaimer:** Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own the rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all of its characters.  I own nothing except the story.

**Author's Note:** This story takes place in the not so distant future.  As anyone who has read my other Buffy story knows, I love complicated plots, and this story is no different.  Things will start off as polar opposites, but eventually everything will converge.

**Author's Note #2:** I meant to post this message with my newest chapter for Saints, but I am having major, extremely huge, mind boggling writer's block, and I have no idea how much longer it is going to take me to post, so I'm posting this message here.  Since we are now on a first name basis Lori, I suppose I should tell you my name as well.  My name is Colin, nice to meet you.

**Author's Note #3:** Lori, you brought up a very valid point earlier.  My other story isn't exactly slapstick, and in fact, it's going to get a lot darker and angstier in the next few chapters.  That is if I can get past my writer's block.  I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote that this story was meant to be more serious.  Let's just say that's its different and leave it at that.

**Author's Note #4:** The revelation of who X and F are should not come as any surprise.  If it is then you must not have been reading this story very closely.  I have only not revealed their names up to this point because I was trying to create a sense of distance from SunnyD and the cannon that surrounds any story that takes place there.  Of course this being a story about the Hellmouth, that distance won't last very long.

Chapter 4

            The man called X stood as still as a statue despite the ten rushing vampires heading in his direction.  With pride, he noticed that his three companions were acting just as controlled as he was.  They had been in worse situations than this before, and they had gotten out relatively unscathed.  The dark haired man knew that the three were waiting for him to save the day.  That was why he was the boss after all.

            With a loud, piercing whistle emanating from the man's lips, the vampires all stopped.  The man was shocked; he hadn't expected that to work.  It was time to make good use out of his unexpected luck.  Yelling out a cry of indignation, he said to the Russian vampire leader, "Hey!  What about my turn?"

            The vampire looked confused. "Turn?  What turn are you talking about?"  As he talked he held up his hand, signifying to the vampires to stop their attack.

            The man began talking, "Yeah, you know, my turn.  You got a turn, and I think that's its only fair that I get one as well."  The man smirked underneath his mask at the confused look on the vampire's face.  He decided to elaborate further, "You got to talk all melodramatic and make a big speech about how vampires are superior and all that shit, and I think that it's only fair that I get to add my own input.  Then we can get to the killing and maiming part of the afternoon."

            Realization dawned on the vampire's face and he gave the four humans a tight-lipped smile.  "Ahhhh, I see.  I'm feeling charitable today, so if you want you can talk.  Say whatever you want."

            The man nodded his head in thanks at the vampire as he slowly moved his left hand to behind his back.  He began feeling around for something, while at the same time he continued talking.  "Well, I just wanted to introduce everyone really, that's all.  You know, so that you can know whose about to kill you."  He heard the vampire laugh at that.  Continuing, he began pointing his gun in the direction of his teammates.  "Let me introduce the five of us to you.  That is T and right next to him is M.  The person to my right is F and you can call me X."

            The man's left hand finally wrapped around what he was looking for.  Unhooking the object off of his vest, he brought his arm forward until his hand was flush with his leg.  None of the vampires seem to notice his movements.  _Dumb fucks_, the man thought to himself.  _They deserve to die for being such morons_.  

            The man's hidden smirk grew even wider when he saw the seemingly omnipresent look of confusion cross the vampire leader's face once again.  The vampire said, "Wait a minute, you said five, but there are only four of you."

            The man let out an embarrassed chuckle as he said, "D'oh!  I can't believe I forgot about Willy!"  Turning his head briefly to look at F he said to her, "Why is it that I always forget to mention Willy?  He's like my best friend."

            He could see the silent laughter coming from his friend as she answered back.  "Damn X, I don't know, but I don't think Willy appreciates it that much.  You should apologize."

            The man shook his head dramatically as he pulled the pin out of the object in his left hand.  Turning back to face the vampire hoarde, he finally brought the object in his hand out into full view of everyone.  Looking closely at the cylindrical shaped object, he said.  "I'm sorry Willy for ignoring you.  But don't worry; I have a new friend for you to meet.  Willy, meet your new friend Boris!"

            The man then tossed the object in a sailing arc, making sure that it went over the heads of the closest vampires and landing in the middle of the group.  Whether it was by chance or design, it happened to land in the surprised arms of the vampire leader.

            Not waiting to stick around and see the kind of havoc that his friend Willy was about to create, the man yelled out to his teammates.  "Move now!  Go!  Go!"  And they did.  Moving as fast as they could running backwards, the team began moving out of the vault.  Tim and Mikey began firing their weapons into the closest vampires, hoping to stall any attack.

            The man knew that they had to get out of the vault before Willy went off, but he knew they weren't going to make it.  He just hoped they were far enough out of the blast radius that they wouldn't be singed too badly.  He didn't have to wait long to find out.

            The white phosphorous grenade, or as the man liked to call it, Willy, exploded.  The phosphorous immediately ignited all the available oxygen in the vault, turning the room into a furnace.  The vampire leader, and the four vampires closest to him, were immediately vaporized in the blast.  And because of the small, enclosed nature of the vault, the expanding fire soon hit the vampires that were farthest away.  Unlike the lucky vampires who had perished right away, the remaining vampires had to suffer for the ten or so seconds that it took for the phosphorous to burn their bodies up.

            The four humans fared slightly better than their vampire adversaries, but not by much.  As soon as the grenade had gone off, all four humans had hit the ground and rolled their bodies up into tight balls, making sure to breathe in as much oxygen as they did.  Fortunately, they were all wearing heavy, thick clothes, and Kevlar body armor, and while the armor might not have been designed to protect against fire, it did add an extra layer of protection.  The raging fire exploded over their bodies, out of the vault, and into the rest of the bank.  The fire ignited several of the desks, and set the teller counter blazing.

            Soon the phosphorous had burned up all the oxygen in the vault, and the fire died down.  The fires outside the vault were another matter, but for right now, the four humans were free from the fire.  

            The man didn't have to open his eyes to know that everything in the vault was destroyed.  The grenade had taken out the vampires, but it had also destroyed what they were looking for.  The man knew that McAllister was not going to be happy that they didn't get the book.  But not getting the book was the least of his worries.

            The man knew they had to leave.  Either the fire would kill them, or the imminent law enforcement response a burning bank was likely to generate would get them.  Neither option was acceptable. 

            Quickly getting to his feet, ignoring the shooting pain that was coming from his back, he moved to his teammates.  He reached his partner first.  Shaking her harshly, he pulled her too his feet and pushed her out of the vault.  He then moved to Tim and Mikey, who were lying right next to each other.  Tim was starting to get to his feet, but his brother was not moving.  That was when the man noticed the reddened patches of skin that were exposed through his clothes.  He could tell that Mikey was burned pretty bad, and was most likely unconscious. 

            The man reached down and lifted Mikey's 6'3" 220-pound frame up onto his shoulder and began pushing Tim out of the vault.  They kept moving until the man had reached the entrance to the bank.  He gently placed Mikey's body on the ground and then he turned back to face the rest of the bank.  Smoke was everywhere, as was the fire.

            That was when he remembered the customers.  The human customers.  Swearing under his breath, he then yelled out to F and Tim, "We gotta get those people out of here!  Now!  Take them outside."

            The three of them then rushed over to the still unconscious humans and began transporting them to outside the bank and onto the street.  Within about five minutes they had managed to get the 12 human inhabitants out of the bank.  Now they just had to worry about themselves.

            Tim, who was standing outside with his brother heard sirens in the distance.  Yanking the door opening, he yelled inside to his boss and the woman who were making a last survey of the bank, making sure that they hadn't missed anybody.  "Boss!  We got company!"

            The man and the woman joined Tim outside, breathing in huge chunks of air and coughing.  The woman began saying between gasps of air, "You…know…it would be…much easier to…breathe without this damn mask on."

            The man responded between his own gasping, "I know…F…but we can't…take them off.  You know…the rules."

            Tim was checking on his brother as his other two team members regained their composure.  Mikey was still not conscious and Tim could see that his wounds were starting to bleed.  Tim got up out of his crouch and faced X.  He said worriedly, "Boss, we gotta get M some help.  He's pretty bad off."

            The man nodded his head, "Right.  We need to get some wheels."  Which the man knew shouldn't be too hard to do; they were in L.A. after all.  Everybody and his brother had a car in the City of Angels.

            That was when Fate smiled down upon them, and they saw a black, Ford Explorer coming down the road.  _Perfect_, the man thought, _just the right size for what we need_.  Picking up his gun that he had placed on the ground while he was rescuing the people inside the bank, he rushed out into the middle of the street.  Standing in the middle of the road, he brought his gun into firing position and yelled at the driver of the rapidly slowing SUV.  "Get out of the car!  Get out of the fucking car now!"

            The woman who was driving the car did the smart thing and did exactly what X wanted.  _After all, how many people refuse a guy dressed completely in black and pointing an assault rifle at them_, the man thought with some dark humor.  The woman shaking quickly opened her door and got out of the car.  She said, "Don't kill me please!"

            The man just shook his head and walked up to her and shoved her over to the bank where the rest of the unconscious people were.  He then yelled out, "In the car, let's go!"  The man climbed into the driver's seat as Tim picked up his brother and ran towards the black car.  The woman opened the back door for Tim and then climbed into the passenger seat.  Once the man saw that everyone was in the car, he sped off.

            Reaching into his vest as he sped down the streets of L.A., he pulled out a cell phone.  Taking both hands off the wheel, he yanked his ski mask off his head with one hand and handed the cell phone over to the woman with the other.  He said to her, "Call Javy."

            The woman did as she was told, and handed the phone back over to the man as the phone was dialing.  The man brought the phone up to his ear with his right hand, as he gripped the steering wheel with his left.  He never took his eyes off the road the whole time.

            The man soon heard another man's voice come on the line.  "Yes?"

            The man barked into the phone, "It's me.  Michael is hurt, bad.  We need you to meet us at the safe house in about 45 minutes.  Make sure you bring everything you need this time."

            Javy responded, "You know you're all over the news?"

            The man said angrily, "Fuck!  Already?  We just left the place five minutes ago."

            Javy responded with disdain, "Your American journalists are like vultures.  Wherever there is death and destruction they are not far behind.  They caught your getaway on tape."

            The man swore again, "Damnit!  We're going to have to switch cars, that'll add time.  Meet us at the safe house in an hour then."

            Javy paused before responding, "I don't know.  You guys are hot right now, my price has increased."

            "I don't care about the fucking price Javy, just get your ass over to the safe house."  The man yelled into the phone.

            The man heard Javy acknowledge his request, "All right, but just remember what you said when I give you my bill."  Javy then hung up the phone.

            The man tossed his cell phone over to the dark haired woman sitting next to him and mumbled under his breath.  "Damn, greedy, little bastard."

            Tim spoke up from behind, "So Javy is going to be there, right?"

            X responded in a reassuring tone, "Yeah Tim.  Javy will have Michael up and as good as new in no time.  If the guy wasn't such a great doctor, I'd kicked his ass a long time ago."

            A dark blue, Lincoln Navigator pulled up to an abandoned warehouse on 6th and Industrial, and three people climbed out, with one carrying something in his arms.  The three people rushed inside the warehouse, and didn't stop moving until they had reached the back of the large building.

            When they got there, four people were waiting for them.  One was a short man, about 5'8", with black hair and a slim build.  The three instantly recognized him as the fifth member of their team, James.  The man standing next to James was slightly taller, about 5'10", with graying black hair and a slightly stockier build than James.  He was holding a large duffel bag and was standing next to a table with a blanket it on it.  Four lights had been placed strategically to insure that the table was flooded in light.  On the table were trays of medical tools.  Tim saw him and immediately rushed over to the table and placed his brother on it.

            Javy wasted no time and began working on Mikey.  He put a pair of gloves on and started cutting away Mikey's clothes.

            X and F, meanwhile concentrated on the other two people in the room.  One was a woman they had never met before.  She was tall, certainly taller than F, with light brown hair that came down to her shoulders.  She was very beautiful, in a severe, patrician kind of way, and was wearing a very expensive suit.  In one hand she was holding a briefcase and in the other she had a small white card.

            Standing next to her was a black man, about X's size, dressed in a suit, but one not as expensive as the woman standing next to him was wearing.  X turned an angry glare on the man.  "McAllister, who the hell is this?"  He pointed to the strange woman as he talked.

            McAllister shrugged his shoulders, "She was waiting here when James showed up.  Said she had a business deal she wanted to discuss with you.  I tried to get her to tell me about it, but she refused.  Said she would only talk to you."

            X turned to face the woman and he saw F move right next to his side in the corner of his eye.  Before he could say anything, the woman spoke up.  "I presume that you are Xander Harris and the one they call Faith?"

            Xander didn't bother denying it or demanding how the woman knew who they were.  He figured that anybody who knew enough to find their safe house would also know their names.  "Yes, and you are?"

            The woman extended her hand that held the card, and gave it to Xander.  Xander saw that it was a very expensive looking business card.  The woman then said, "My name is Lilah Morgan, and I have a business proposition for you that I think you will find very profitable."


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** In the Shadows of Twilight

**Author:** DOKChairman

**Time/Spoilers:** I have no idea when this takes place.  However, everything after season six is fair game.

**Summary:** There is no summary.

**Disclaimer:** Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own the rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all of its characters.  I own nothing except the story.

**Author's Note:** This story takes place in the not so distant future.  As anyone who has read my other Buffy story knows, I love complicated plots, and this story is no different.  Things will start off as polar opposites, but eventually everything will converge.

**Author's Note #2:** This is a short chapter, meant to remind you of the forces at work in this story.  I promise that in the next chapter, we will finally get some back story on our intrepid bank robbers.

Chapter 5

            "I'm Lilah Morgan.  I'm here to see the senior partners."  Lilah said to the older and distinguished receptionist sitting just outside the conference room.

            The older woman brought her hand up to adjust her glasses as she pointedly looked up and down Lilah's body.  Lilah felt an involuntary shiver race down her spine at the look the woman was giving her.  There was just something about the way the woman stared at her that scared the hell out of her.  

It was that fear that made Lilah understand why this woman was sitting outside the door to the room that held some of the most powerful men in the city of L.A.  She was just the first link in a growing chain meant to terrify and intimidate those lucky few chosen to actually meet the senior partners.

This was the high point of Lilah's career.  Everything that she had ever done had been done to get her to this point.  A face to face meeting with the senior partners at Wolfram & Hart.  Lilah knew that this meeting could make or break her career.  She had been steadily moving up the corporate ladder since joining the insidious law firm, but this was the last hurdle in her way to reaching the top.  She was determined to be the first female senior partner in the firm's long history.  She would not be denied.

Lilah refocused her drifting concentration on the old woman sitting in front of her.  "Ah, yes, Miss Morgan.  The partners are expecting you.  You may go on in."

Lilah gave the woman a slight glare, and then made her way purposefully to the two large, very sturdy, oak doors of the conference room.  Placing her hand on the matte black handle of the door, she paused as she thought about what she was about to do.

She was about to enter the main conference room of the senior partners.  It was almost too daunting for her to grasp.  She felt fear and anticipation grab hold of her at the same time.  She knew what some of the younger and more easily frightened associates called the room she was about to enter.  They called it the Black Hole.  Not because it sucked up all matter, but because, they claimed, it sucked out the souls of all those who entered it, leaving only a black hole inside its victims.

Of course, Lilah didn't believe that.  Not that it mattered.  As far as Lilah was concerned, she had sold her soul a long time ago, so there was nothing for those people in that room to take away from her.  Considering the kind of work she did and considering the kind of people she worked with, it was debatable whether or not the fact that she had sold her soul could be interpreted in the literal sense or the figurative.

Lilah took a deep breath and she twisted the handle of the door.  The door went swinging inward and she walked inside the dark room with her head held high.  She refused to be intimidated.  Of course that determination vanished about four seconds after she entered the room and the door closed behind her with a resounding click.

Lilah briefly looked over shoulder to the doors and again felt a shiver run down her spine.  There was no turning back now.  Lilah turned her head back to face the five senior partners all sitting at a very old, rectangular, wooden table.  Four of the partners sat on the side, two on each side, while the fifth man sat at the head of the table facing her.  Lilah knew that man to be Johan Wolfram, the most senior partner, and the one she knew she should talk too.

Wolfram addressed her as she walked to the end of the table opposite of him.  "Miss Morgan, it is so good to finally meet your acquaintance.  I have heard many wonderful things about you."

Lilah was a little taken aback by the friendly tone the man was using and gave him a nervous smile.  "Thank you sir.  I have always tried to serve this firm to the best of my ability."

Wolfram nodded his head at her words, "Oh, I know you have Miss Morgan and your record reflects that.  Speaking of serving this firm, were you successful in contacting Mr. Harris and his little group?"

Business, now this was something Lilah could handle.  Adopting her professional tone, the one she always used when dealing with clients, Lilah's nervousness disappeared.  "Yes, sir.  I made contact with Alexander Harris earlier this evening."

Wolfram said, "And?"

Lilah opened her briefcase and pulled out a folder containing papers.  She handed the folder to the one of the closer men and he passed it down to Wolfram.  As Wolfram looked through the folder, Lilah continued speaking.  "And he agreed, sir."

This time Wolfram looked slightly shocked.  He had known that Lilah made contact with Harris but he was unaware of the contents of their discussion.  Wolfram asked, "Really?  May I ask how you managed that?  Alexander Harris is famous for his disdain of corporate business.  I was under the impression that he only accepted contracts from private citizens."

Lilah acknowledged what Wolfram said with a nod of her head and then she added, "Normally sir, you would be correct.  But I made Mr. Harris an offer that he couldn't refuse."

Realization dawned in the man's eyes, and he asked, "How much?"

Lilah answered quickly, "$20 million dollars."  Lilah could see the disapproving scowls on the faces of several of the partners and she felt like she had to defend herself.  "That was well within the parameters that you gave me."

Wolfram smiled kindly at Lilah, "Don't let them get to you my dear.  My partners sometimes forget the old adage that you must spend money to make money."

Lilah felt her shoulders slump slightly in relief.  For a minute there she had been afraid that she might have ruined her chances by offering too much money.  Lilah saw Wolfram close the folder that she had given him and he looked at her with a steady gaze.  "This was very good work, Miss Morgan.  In fact, with the exception of a few isolated incidents involving the vampire Angelus, you have had a remarkable career with this firm.  So remarkable that we feel that you are ready for more high profile cases."

This was a little more than Lilah expected, but she wasn't about to let this opportunity slip through her fingers.  "Thank you sir.  It would be my pleasure to help out this firm in anyway I can."

Wolfram smiled again, but this time his smile was far from friendly.  "I am so happy to hear you say that Miss Morgan.  It is the unanimous decision of this partnership that the interests of our newest client be entrusted to your care."

As soon as he finished, a blinding white light filled the dark room.  Lilah shut her eyes and waited for the light to die down.  When she opened her eyes she saw that there was a new addition to the room.  Standing behind Johan Wolfram was a tall man, with long black hair flowing down to his waist.  He was not a handsome man, but he appeared to be human, and his body was slim but taut.  Lilah thought that he had an athlete's body.  In one hand he held an ornately carved staff with a blood red jewel at the top.  To Lilah, he looked like he had come from another world.  Which wasn't far from the truth.

Wolfram stood up from his chair and moved to stand next to the strange man's side.  "Miss Morgan, it is my pleasure to introduce to you Wolfram & Hart's newest client and your next case.  Lilah Morgan, meet Gresham Bar."


End file.
